Green at Home

The Environmental Impact of Food Miles: What You Can Do To Help

Do you know how far your food has travelled to reach your dinner table?  In many cases, Western society routinely purchases food that was grown more than 1000 miles away and transported to the local grocery store.  While food prices in the store are relatively inexpensive, the environmental cost of transporting your food is often very high.  Trucks, trains, and boats, all of which consume fossil fuels, are the primary methods for transporting large quantities of food around the world.  Additionally, the transportation of these goods causes an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.  Many people are becoming aware of the impact that food mileage has on the environment and are choosing alternative food purchase options to reduce the distance that their food must travel to reach their plates. When purchasing food in the store, consider the food miles that it has accumulated to reach the shelf.  For example, many fruits and vegetables which are out of season are provided by foreign countries and have travelled a significant distance to reach the local shelves.  By choosing locally grown produce, you can drastically cut the food miles that you consume.  Additionally, buying produce that is in season increases the chances that it is ...

Is LED Lighting Soon to Replace CFLs as a Green Lighting Alternative?

In-home lighting has come a long way throughout history, from candles and flames to incandescent light bulbs and then compact fluorescent light bulbs.  Now there is a new contender on the scene – light emitting diodes (LEDs).  However, can the benefits of LEDs outweigh the potential problems associated with them?  While the battle between incandescent and compact fluorescent lighting is over (compact fluorescents being the clear victor), the battle between LED and compact fluorescents has just begun.  Overall, LEDs have a huge potential for the future, but are not necessarily the best choice at the current time.  Here is a quick comparison of the differences between LEDs and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Benefits of LEDs Compared to CFLs LEDs last about ten times longer than CFLs.  This will save you the time and effort of changing your light bulbs on a frequent basis.  Many LEDs will last for more than ten years of continuous use. An LED light uses about half the amount of electricity as a CFL with the same lighting capability (sometimes even less).  This is even more important when you are powering your home with solar panels or other sources of alternative energy in an effort to reduce your reliance ...

Fruit Flies - Get Rid of Them the Natural Way

Fruit flies are definitely very annoying.  Sure, they won't harm you, but they are definitely frustrating to deal with.  They especially show up during the end of summer when you have fruit that is overripe.  While no doubt you want to get rid of them, it is very important that you choose a natural option to eliminate them so you don't bring harmful chemicals into your home. Especially at the end of the summer, fruit flies show up in veggies, fruits, in garbage areas, and kitchens.  They are attracted to vegetables that are rotting and fruit that is overripe.  Fruit flies are actually house flies, but they are the smallest type of these flies.  They have red eyes and a body that is yellow.  They don't carry around diseases, but they are pests that come in swarms and that may decide to breed in any overripe fruit that they find.  If you don't want to end up with more, it's important to learn how you can naturally get rid of them. Going with natural options to eliminate fruit flies are safe and they are also effective as well.  With a few ingredients that are easy to find and a bit of knowledge, ...

Clothes Dryer Efficiency Tips & Forgotten Alternatives

Save energy and go green when washing your clothes.  Utilize with the spin dryer, which provides you with the high speed centrifuge for all your clothes.  Place your clothes in the spin dryer after the washing machine has taken out most of the water.  The dryer utilizes the same energy no matter how damp the clothing, thus improving the overall washing efficiency. The high speed provided by the dryer removes any additional cleaning chemicals, thus relieving your skin of irritability brought on by contact with the cleaning chemicals.  This small adjustment will extend the life of your clothing.  Hold on to your favorite clothes and linens longer and save money at the shopping mall. Cleaning the lint filter after each use is an important habit to start in order to prolong the life of your dryer.  Exercise restraint when tempted to stuff your dryer to the brim with all of your laundry.  When you overload the dryer, you deny the inside of the dryer the necessary air to circulate between your clothing.  The extra space in the dryer allows your clothing the proper space it needs to have the most effective exposure to the heat/air.  If possible, open a window or door ...

Never Tried Passing The Recycling Box? Now’s The Time To Do It

DIY (Do It Yourself) Recycling Tray Budgets are getting tighter, and many of us are doing without many of the things we'd normally buy.  We also have a national epidemic of too much stuff.  Most people are tightening their belts on one side, and looking at their piles of clutter on the other.  Wouldn't it be great if the solution to one problem was the solution to the other? Fortunately, it could be.  The solution that gets rid of your excess stuff could also help you get a few of those gadgets and knickknacks you've been longing for.  Here's how it works. When the seasons turn, we all go through our stuff.  There's clothing we and the kids have outgrown, or clothes that just aren't in style anymore.  There are all the knickknacks and small things that you just don't use anymore.  They take up lots of space, are annoying to clean around, and we wish they'd just disappear.  Yet we rarely ever actually get rid of them.  After all, most people feel guilty throwing something perfectly good into the trash can.  That's why the recycling box is such a good idea. Start with a box.  It needs to be a sturdy one, ...